Curriculum

Election Law: the Law of Democracy

This course will examine the law - constitutional and statutory - governing the political and electoral process in America. Emphasis will be on the way in which constitutional law doctrines and theories, particularly under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, restrain legislative enactments that regulate politics and elections. Topics will include the right to vote, legislative apportionment, regulation of political parties, the problems of direct democracy (initiatives, referenda, ballot questions), efforts to control the political campaign funding and regulation of lobbying and direct access to governmental processes. Course materials will include a regular casebook, supplemented by topical materials.